Third baseman Travis Shaw slugged the first two home runs of his major league career and had four RBIs as the Boston Red Sox overcame another shaky start from Joe Kelly in an 11-7 win over the Tampa...

Former state rep. sentenced to prison for kickback scheme

By MARK HAYWARDNew Hampshire Union Leader

A former New Hampshire politician with a once promising political future will spend the next 3 1/2 years in federal prison for his role in a kickback scheme that netted him more than $9 million from a military contract issued to train Afghan soldiers, federal prosecutors said.David Young, a former Republican state representative from Alstead, must turn himself over to federal corrections officials on Aug. 4, according to terms of the sentence, which was issued last week in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City.

“The defendant betrayed his oath to the Constitution and abused his position as a military officer to pilfer taxpayer dollars to feed his appetite for wealth and an opulent lifestyle,” said Jonathan Lines, an ICE investigator quoted by federal prosecutors in Salt Lake City.

Late last year, Young pleaded guilty to the charges of disclosure of procurement information and money laundering.

Prosecutors said he received the kickbacks on a $17 million contract that the U.S. military signed with American International Security Corporation to train Afghan military forces in weapons maintenance and logistics.

An activated reservist working with the Army, Young leaked confidential bid, proposal and source selection information to AISC officials in 2007. Young has already agreed to forfeit money from multiple bank accounts, real property in New Hampshire and Florida, proceeds from the sale of a Hummer and boat; a Jaguar, and 400 gold coins.

Elected in 1985 at the age 21, Young was one of New Hampshire’s youngest state legislators. He went on to receive a Bronze Star in the Persian Gulf War as a lieutenant in the Army Special Forces. In 2000, he was vice chairman of John McCain’s presidential campaign in New Hampshire.

But in 2006, the New Hampshire Supreme Court disbarred Young as an attorney, after concluding he lied about a client’s sexual assault claim and misused her settlement money. Prosecutors said he now lives in Hernando County, Fla.

One of Young’s co-defendants, Boston-resident Michael Taylor, 53, has pleaded guilty and is expected to be sentenced to two years in federal prison.